1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of database manipulation and more particularly to the field of structured databases such as used by on-line Web-based application, structured databases by interactive voice response applications and shared or common use of those structured database.
2. Description of the Related Art
The World Wide Web (WWW) or xe2x80x9cthe Webxe2x80x9d provides a computer user with electronic access to documents located on data servers throughout the world. The standard document format for the Web is HyperText Markup Language (HTML). HTML documents can be static or dynamic. Static HTML documents contain all information required to generate the Web page.
Dynamic HTML documents contain a shell for the Web page, but dynamically insert information into the shell at the time a user links to the HTML document or modifies information in a document. These characteristics of dynamic HTML are described by Isaacs S., Inside Dynamic HTML, Microsoft Press, 1997, which is incorporated herein by reference. Dynamic Web pages are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,673 issued to Bookman et al which is incorporated herein by reference. Use of relational databases over the Internet, which can be an integral part of dynamic HTML is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,592 issued to Nguyen et al which is incorporated herein by reference.
The concept of providing interactive voice response (IVR) to telephone calls is also known. IVR provides automated response to a customer by providing prompts and detecting customer responses to the prompts through either keypad entries or spoken words. IVR is described in a number of patents, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,044 to Lofgren et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,002 to Fawcett et al; and 5,493,608 to O""Sullivan, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Both Web and IVR systems use menu structures and structured databases to organize the customer interaction and control access to information. When Web and IVR systems have similar objectives, there can be substantial similarity in the menu structures and structured database of each system.
There is a need to relate the menu structures and structured database information supporting on-line Web users and IVR users.
An objective is to provide a computer method comprising the steps of identifying a structured database that supports on-line users as suitable for interactive voice response; analyzing the structured database; and generating an interactive voice response menu based on the database analysis. The menu is usable for interactive voice response. The structured database includes HTML documents and scripts which support the on-line users.
Another objective is to provide a computer method comprising the steps of identifying a structured database that includes hypertext mark-up language documents and supports on-line users as suitable for interactive voice response; analyzing the structured database; generating an interactive voice response menu based on the database analysis; and using the menu to support caller interaction with the database during a communication conducted with interactive voice response.
Another objective is to provide a computer method comprising the steps of communicating using interactive voice response; and responsive to the recognized voice, providing interactive choices derived from a structured database, the structured database supporting at least the interactive choices and on-line users. The structured database includes HTML documents and scripts and the structured database supports the on-line users through a Web browser.
Another objective is to provide a computer method comprising the steps of communicating using interactive voice response; and responsive to the recognized voice, providing interactive choices derived from a structured database, the structured database providing information for the interactive choices and on-line accessible hypertext mark-up language documents.
Another objective is to provide a computer method comprising the steps of analyzing a structured database that supports interactive voice response users; and generating links to the structured database based on the database analysis, the links being usable for on-line users.
Another objective is to provide a system comprising at least one structured database; an on-line server, electronically linked to the at least one structured database and allowing the system to support on-line users by using information in the at least one structured database; and an interactive voice response server, electronically linked to the at least one structured database and allowing the system to support customers connected to the interactive voice response server by using information in the at least one structured database.
Another objective is to provide a system comprising at least one structured database; an on-line server, electronically linked to the at least one structured database and allowing the system to support on-line users by using information in the structured database; and an interactive voice response server, electronically linked to the on-line server, the system analyzing a menu structure supporting the on-line users and creating an interactive voice response menu structure to support a user connected to the interactive voice response server.
Another objective is to provide a system comprising at least one structured database; and a server, the server electronically linked to the at least one structured database and allowing the system to support on-line users by using information in the at least one structured database and the server electronically linked to the at least one structured database and allowing the system to support customers connected to the server by using information in the at least one structured database.
Another objective is to provide a system and method to analyze a menu structure that supports interactive voice response users and generate a graphic representation of the menu structure using the analysis. The graphic representation of the menu structure is usable for on-line users and allows the system to make a telephone connection of an on-line user to a choice on the graphic representation of the menu structure. The system makes the telephone connection by either replicating the choices of the interactive voice response menu, or bypassing the choices and direct dialing to the desired choice. The system dials with a TAPI interface, or a form of Internet telephony.